Nicolas Pepe's representatives are pushing for a move to Arsenal, it has been claimed.
The Lille winger is wanted by a host of clubs with Napoli the current front-runners for his signature after he met with club bosses during the week.
Manchester United are amongst those who have also been linked with a move - but it is Arsenal who represent the main competition to land Pepe, according to Sky Sport Italia journalist Gianluca Di Marzio .
He highlights that Arsenal are willing to pay Pepe's representatives the fees and commissions they want, and therefore they are pushing their client to head to the Emirates.
However, Napoli are already understood to have agreed a fee with Lille by meeting their £70m asking price for Pepe.
With Arsenal working on a tight budget, they could face being priced out of the move by his current club, a similar issue they are facing with top target Wilfried Zaha.
Pepe's agent, Samir Khiat, took to social media to deny his client is on the verge of joining Manchester United, branding a tweet about him heading to Old Trafford "fake news".
But Carlo Ancellotti confirmed he has held talks with Pepe's representatives as Napoli look to wrap up a deal before Arsenal can make their move.
"I've met with Pepe's agents," Ancelotti said. "They were at our hotel.
"It is normal that we would meet to discuss eventual negotiations. It is pointless to hide it with his agents here: we are interested in Pepe.
"Pepe is a wide attacking player. We want to find someone who can play between the lines, without forgetting that Milik is a centre-forward, but also strong with his feet."
Pepe's representatives are set to try and convince him to move to the Gunners, and they could sufficently hold up the move to allow Unai Emery to act.
